Douluo: The Unrivaled Demon Lord

Chapter 103 The Snow Empress's Crisis ①
A faint golden halo continuously flowed into Shu Yan's sea of ​​consciousness. While Tian Meng was helping Shu Yan maintain the stability of his sea of ​​consciousness, she was also protecting Bing Di's spiritual origin. Otherwise, given the strength of Bing Di's spiritual power, she would not have been able to complete the fusion with the human under these circumstances.

Shu Yan's figure slowly appeared in the sea of ​​consciousness, immediately attracting the attention of all three.

"Hyotei, welcome to the team."

A slight smile played on Shu Yan's lips. The power of the Ice Emperor was undeniable. Whether from the perspective of race or the foundation of her own abilities, the boost that the Ice Emperor could provide to her was enormous.

"Ah."

Hyotei nodded, her expression no longer as cold as before. She looked into Shu Yan's eyes and continued:

“I can provide you with a soul bone, and because my cultivation level is infinitely close to 400,000 years, I can control the type of soul bone I produce, whether it is a limb soul bone or a torso bone, these are all possible.”

Shu Yan didn't think too much before speaking directly:

"The left arm bone will suffice."

Hyotei's face showed a hint of surprise, then she asked:
"you sure?"

Shu Yan nodded, then said:
"I am sure."

Tianmeng, who was standing nearby, explained the reason to Bingdi. After listening, Bingdi's slightly furrowed brows relaxed, and she then softly agreed to Shuyan's request.

If what Tianmeng said is true, then she really doesn't need to give Shu Yan a torso soul bone according to her own ideas. Her race and age are terrifying, but that doesn't mean there aren't powerful soul beasts on the continent who are more outstanding than her in these two aspects. The position of the soul bones in her arms is already extremely good.

It should be noted that, apart from their proud ultimate ice attribute, the Ice Jade Scorpion clan's most formidable asset is their terrifying strength.

Do not underestimate the power of the Ice Jade Scorpion clan; this is a consensus among many powerful clans in the far north. These creatures, though not particularly large in size, can easily unleash terrifying power capable of shaking mountains. And the Ice Emperor, as the royal family of the Ice Jade Scorpion clan, possesses an even more terrifying level of mastery in terms of power.

Hyotei could even proudly say that, given the same age, her power might not be weaker than that of Titan Snow Demon King!
With the soul bone issue resolved, the next step is the final Martial Soul fusion.

Shu Yan's physical strength was extraordinary, and with an almost inexhaustible supply of life energy, the fusion of his soul bone and second martial soul, although causing him a lot of pain, was not serious. In fact, the pain quickly disappeared under the nourishment of life energy.

Hyotei was increasingly shocked, but at the same time felt a great sense of relief.

From the moment she chose to compromise and merge with Shu Yan, she was destined to have no way back.

Shu Yan's fate was crucial to whether her life could be continued; this was of paramount importance.

Her mindset has changed. Now, like Xie Ji Tianmeng, she will do her best to plan for Shu Yan's progress. In fact, they themselves are also one of the steps for Shu Yan's progress.

……

After the second martial soul, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, was completely fused, a circle of emerald green light spread outward from Shu Yan's body. The area with a diameter of one kilometer was instantly invaded by an extreme low temperature the moment it was illuminated by this dark green light. The wind and snow in the sky instantly froze, and even time and space seemed to freeze. Everything was eerily quiet.

An indescribable sense of comfort permeated every cell in Shu Yan's body. At this moment, the severe cold and low temperature were no longer troubles he needed to resist. With the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Martial Soul, he himself was the embodiment of extreme low temperature!
Behind Shu Yan, a huge emerald green totem slowly emerged, which was the appearance of the Ice Emperor's true form, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion. The beast king's aura covered thousands of miles, and for a moment, even the changes in the celestial phenomena seemed to be affected.

A sliver of sunlight pierced through the thick, dark clouds, and one of them fell precisely on Shu Yan. A blood-red soul ring with four golden patterns slowly rose, its bewitching, profound red light outlining a breathtaking scene against the endless white snow. From a distance, it was utterly mesmerizing.

Shu Yan slowly opened his eyes. His originally deep, ink-like eyes now had a strange dark green tinge. That dark green tinge blended perfectly into Shu Yan's eyes, and with just one glance, it seemed as if it could swallow a person's soul and tear it apart completely.

"Ayan, congratulations! After successfully fusing with the Ice Emperor, your physical attributes have once again achieved a leap forward... Although the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion cannot compete with your first martial soul, Yazi, in terms of overall quality, the Ice Emperor's ultimate ice attribute is absolutely the best in the world. This is the limit of the element; it is ice that can truly freeze time and space. In your future cultivation, you will feel its terrifying power..."

Tianmeng's voice was so excited that it even had a hint of a roar, which moved Xie Ji and Bing Di.

Shu Yan, who already possessed the Super True Dragon Martial Soul, was already a genius. Now, he has gained a second Martial Soul with extreme attributes on top of his original abilities. This is not just a simple improvement, but a true transformation.

Standing in the biting wind, Shu Yan gazed at the far north. He was only wearing a black shirt, but he felt no cold at all. In fact, he felt a sense of pleasure and warmth in this environment, a feeling that all ice-attribute soul masters experienced. However, due to the difference in the quality of their martial souls, this situation varied greatly.

After a long silence, Shu Yan suddenly spoke:
"I plan to go to the inner circle again afterward."

The three people in the Sea of ​​Spirit were stunned for a moment after hearing Shu Yan's voice, and then Ice Emperor spoke:
Can you tell us why?

Shu Yan pondered for a moment, then spoke:

"I had previously received information that several level-nine soul masters from the Sun Moon Empire were suspected of trying to infiltrate the core area of ​​the far north to capture and take away a soul beast that was over twenty years old."

"A soul beast that is over 200,000 years old!?"

Hyotei exclaimed in surprise.

Although the number of 100,000-year-old soul beasts in the far north is equal to or even surpasses that of the Star Dou Great Forest, there are only a few ferocious beasts with a cultivation level of more than 200,000 years. Well, they can all be considered old acquaintances of the Ice Emperor.

In just a moment, Hyotei's expression darkened, and then she continued to ask:

"Is this information reliable? Can we confirm who their target is? I simply can't imagine that humans would dare to venture deep into the core area to capture ferocious beasts..."

After a pause, Hyotei continued:
"This is truly unbelievable. Within the core circle, unless a human Limit Douluo leads the way, it is almost impossible to take away a ferocious beast without alerting the other soul beasts."

Shu Yan didn't say much, but calmly said:

“I have my own special intelligence channels, this information is absolutely reliable.” “They naturally can’t do anything about ordinary ferocious beasts, but what if the beast itself has its strength greatly reduced for some reason, to the point that it can’t fight back?”

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck, and Hyotei's body stiffened. A bold, even somewhat absurd, idea popped into her mind.

Her body was trembling slightly. Xie Ji and Tian Meng exchanged a glance, both of them unsure of what was happening.

"How could this be... how could this be!? Could it be that their target is... is..."

Hyotei spoke as if to himself, his voice somewhat unclear. Tenmu hesitated for a moment, but then mustered her courage and leaned closer to ask softly:
"Bingbing, who exactly are you talking about?"

The emotion in Hyotei's eyes could be described as terror. Facing Tenmu's question, she said with some difficulty:
"It's...it's the Snow Empress! Their target must be the Snow Empress! The only ferocious beast in the core circle that can produce the situation Shu Yan described is the Snow Empress!"

"What!? x2"

Tianmeng and Xieji exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Who is Xue Di?

That was the third most powerful of the ten most ferocious beasts on the continent, the Ice and Snow Maiden whose cultivation was close to the 700,000-year mark. She was a being formed from the purest ice-attribute elemental energy of heaven and earth in the core of the far north. After countless years, she finally developed her own thoughts and wisdom.

It can be said that Snow Empress is the true master of the far north. She is the daughter born of heaven and earth in the far north, the spirit of ice and snow, and the spirit of heaven and earth. Since her birth, she has possessed the destiny of the far north and is the most special existence among all the soul beast races in the far north.

In some respects, Xue Di cannot even be categorized into the entire group of soul beasts, because she is simply too special.

"How is this possible? With the Snow Empress's strength, even if the Beast God Di Tian came, it would be extremely difficult for him to defeat her in the core area of ​​the far north. How could such a powerful Snow Empress be taken away by humans... Bingbing, tell me quickly, what exactly happened here?"

Tianmeng said somewhat anxiously.

After successfully capturing the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Ice Emperor, a terrifying thought had already taken root in its mind: to transform the Snow Emperor into a smart soul ring like them in the future.

It's fair to say that the Snow Empress herself is one of their most important future goals. Now that the Snow Empress is in trouble, it means that Shu Yan may not be able to obtain her assistance in the future. In a sense, isn't this creating trouble for their path to godhood? It would be strange if it weren't anxious...

After the initial shock faded from Xie Ji's face, confusion took its place.

The northern wilderness that she had previously regarded as her old home bordered the far north. Over the years, she had also dealt with the soul beasts of the far north, so she was naturally aware of the Snow Empress's reputation.

She simply couldn't imagine which humans would dare to lay a hand on the Snow Emperor, the ruler of this world. Weren't they just asking for trouble?
"Alright, don't think too much about it. This is just information I got by chance. It's hard to say whether it's true or not. But you should know that Yuki's situation is even more dangerous than yours."

Shu Yan spoke softly to comfort him.

Judging from Hyotei's reaction, her relationship with Yuki-tei must be extremely good. Otherwise, how could the cold and proud Hyotei have such a strong emotional outburst when she realized that Yuki-tei might be in danger?

With Shu Yan's reassurance, Hyotei gradually regained its composure.

“Yes, I sensed the Snow Empress’s presence when I was inspecting the territory not long ago. She once said that she would come to find me before I faced the next great calamity. This is our agreement. At least before she comes to find me, the Snow Empress will not have any problems... After all, even if she cannot survive the next heavenly tribulation, she is still the Snow Empress. In the far north, unless a true god descends, no one can easily defeat her.”

As best friends and rivals for hundreds of thousands of years, Hyotei has a far greater understanding of Yuki's strength than most people.

At the same time, she also gained a better understanding of Xue Di's personality.

As the true master of the far north, the Snow Emperor's desire for control was even stronger than hers. Moreover, the Snow Emperor held humanity in even greater contempt. Throughout history, not many humans had died at the hands of the Snow Emperor, but those who did die at her hands were all top-tier powerhouses in the human race.

The Snow Emperor, like the cold and desolate far north, is someone that ordinary people simply cannot come into contact with.

"Shu Yan, for the next month, you should avoid venturing further into the far north unless absolutely necessary."

"Although I have become your second martial soul, your Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion martial soul still carries my aura. This aura has been uncontrollably dissipating outwards, and it is essentially a hidden force. You need to deal with it first. The Snow Empress will not be in any danger in the short term. You should go find a place nearby to cultivate in seclusion for a while. It's also a good opportunity for me to teach you some of my ice control techniques. Perhaps these things will not be of much use to you, but as the saying goes, it's never a bad thing to have more skills. This will be beneficial to you."

After careful consideration, Hyotei spoke.

After thinking for a moment, Shu Yan agreed softly.

In the short term, it is indeed not suitable for him to rejoin the core circle. It also happens that he does not yet have much understanding of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Martial Soul. Now he has the opportunity to get some guidance from the Ice Emperor, which is a good thing.

Tianmeng released its spiritual power to carefully explore the area within a hundred miles. Then it pointed out a direction, and Shu Yan followed its guidance, eventually arriving at the junction of a forest and an ice field.

Forests like this, near the far north and covered in frost, are generally referred to as Frozen Forests on the continent. Oscar, one of the Seven Gods, the God of Food, once came to Frozen Forest to hunt souls ten thousand years ago.

Now, ten thousand years have passed, and part of the Frozen Forest has been developed and encroached upon by humans. Nowadays, even ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts are extremely rare in the Frozen Forest. Most of the soul beasts that still live there are thousand-year-old or hundred-year-old soul beasts. However, powerful soul beasts from the far north sometimes come here to wander around. Historical records show that some people have encountered ice-attribute soul beasts that are over one hundred thousand years old in the Frozen Forest.

As the human race grows and expands, its encroachment on the territory of spirit beasts is also gradually increasing. The balance between the two races is being broken. Compared to the far north, where spirit beasts have a single attribute, the Star Dou Great Forest is the gathering place of spirit beasts facing the most serious problem.

Humans and soul beasts are both indispensable parts of the Douluo Continent's ecosystem, but unfortunately, many humans and soul beasts are unaware of this.

……

(End of this chapter)